Stockton Mayor Anthony Silva entered a not guilty plea in Amador County Court Thursday on charges he secretly recorded a strip poker game involving teenagers at a summer camp he runs and supplied the minors with alcohol.
"Unlike other politicians, I say that I am human. I am far, far from perfect," Silva told the Court. "But, those things are a far, far cry from any sort of criminal activity.”
Silva and his attorneys insisted that the teenagers in the video were not victims. Audio interviews conducted with the minors prove that, they say.
Silva’s attorneys provided that audio to the Stockton Record Wednesday on the condition that the children’s names not be released. In the interviews, the teens deny the mayor did anything wrong. One then-16-year-old boy, alleged to have been stripping and drinking on the videos, said he was not even present.
From there, however, the stories become somewhat contradictory. Three of the witnesses describe the game being played with Mayor Silva as strip poker. A fourth says strip poker only came up in conversation. All agree that Mayor Silva never removed his clothes and say he did not directly provide them with alcohol. But one witness does suggest Silva was drinking along with the kids.
“He might have had a beer. I think (redacted) might have been drinking. And I definitely was drinking.”
Silva’s attorneys also shared nearly 200 photos and a brief video which they say proves nothing inappropriate was going on. They described the investigation as “Kafkaesque” and reiterated claims that authorities obtained much of their information illegally.
During the hearing Thursday, Silva and his attorneys also accused the prosecution of being motivated by politics, especially in light of his upcoming re-election campaign. Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe scoffed at that suggestion.
“I could care less about San Joaquin politics," said Riebe. "As prosecutors, before we can file criminal charges, we have an ethical obligation to determine whether there exists sufficient evidence to prove each charge to a unanimous jury beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The prosecution stands by the strength of its evidence, he added.
Image Credit: Flickr User 95627686@N03, https://flic.kr/p/rpNXqn via (CC BY-ND 2.0)